Powder, a mercurial long-haired ginger prone to swatting, had been dumped at the ripe age of 12 at the B.C. SPCA.

She was up for grabs at half price — because of her age. It offended me, approaching my own golden years, that this glamorous puss with a big rumbling purr had been devalued due to her senior status.

Alas, many cats in Canada are devalued.

Astoundingly, nearly 60,000 felines in shelters — 20 per cent of them kittens — were destroyed in 2011, mostly because they had the misfortune of getting sick at their shelter or the rescue organization had run out of space.

By comparison, 10,000 dogs were euthanized.

The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies says some 40 per cent of cats received by shelters are being destroyed.

The federation surveyed shelter, veterinary and municipal representatives as well as ordinary Canadians about the problem in mid-2012 and several weeks ago issued a report.

The report, A Comprehensive Report on the Cat Overpopulation Crisis, calls on Canadians to take ownership of the dire situation facing felines.

“We need nationwide media support of the ‘Opt to Adopt’ message,” says the federation in a news release.

“The need for new homes is desperate,” says Craig Naherniak of the B.C. SPCA.

While there are 10.2 million “owned cats” in Canada, twice as many cats as dogs are dumped at shelters. And fewer than half of surrendered cats are found new homes.

An estimated 640,000 cats in Canada languished in shelters in 2011.

In B.C., owners who left their pets cited rental and financial issues, and inability to cope with responsibilities of ownership.

Cats who end up in shelters because they wandered off are far less likely than dogs to get reconnected to owners because most aren’t equipped with ID tags or microchips. Fewer than 1 per cent of lost cats are reunited.

Another problem for cats: too many are not being fixed. The federation wants spaying and neutering to be made more affordable.

“The rising cost of veterinary service is cited as a barrier to owners accessing the surgery, leaving animal breeding uncontrolled.”

Clearly more veterinarians, many of whom make good incomes as a result of pet ownership, need to step up and offer subsidized sterilization procedures.

Some 37.7 per cent of Canadian households include one, often two, cats, compared to 30 per cent with dogs.

And the cat ownership rate is increasing, by 3.6 per cent annually. The dog ownership rate, meanwhile, is decreasing. This could be because dogs require outdoor walks and plenty of TLC and Canadians are ever more preoccupied by other things.

The federation, a 56-year old animal advocacy group, has also released another report on broad developments for animals in Canada in 2012.

It lauded the fact that Richmond as well as Toronto and Mississauga are banning pet store sales of dogs and cats, eliminating one outlet for puppy and cat mills.

It praised a decision by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to order the University of B.C. to release details of its animal research program.

And, it gave a thumbs down to federal provisions allowing the continued import of dog and cat fur from China.

The federation also heaped scorn on the lenient sentencing (probation and a $1,700 fine) last November of Robert Fawcett, who killed 54 sled dogs in Whistler in April of 2010.

“The B.C. court system missed an incredible opportunity to set a new standard for animal cruelty in the province.”

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Barbara Yaffe: Canadians must take responsibility for cat overpopulation

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